ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

BACK TO BASICS:

Let us jump into the ocean of the English language to know the important language elements in it. Here we are going to discuss many components of language.
There are five basic elements ( word order, punctuation, tense and aspect, determiners, connectors ) in English.
Here we are going to know about some other elements of the English language.

ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE:

Grammar: A systematic presentation of words, sentences arrangement to show a certain kind of meaning in any language. This Grammar is a very essential element of English.

formal: Speaking is the way to talk to strangers politely. In writing, we follow this in literary work and business letters, etc.

e.g. start (formal), commence (more formal).

informal: Speaking is the way to talk to well-known people, friends and relatives, etc. In writing, we follow this in informal letters and diaries.

e.g. get (informal),obtain (formal).

complement: It gives more information about the subject or object.

e.g. You are an important person to go there.

 They elected him the President.

 Sometimes it is a structure or words after a noun, adjective, verb or preposition to complete its meaning. 

e.g. try jumping,

 above the shelf,

the intention to fly,

 fond of sweets.

pre-modifier: We use a word before the word to modify it.

e.g. announced people.

post-modifier: We use a word after the word to modify it.

e.g. The people announced came on to the dais.

affirmative sentence: Makes a positive statement.

e.g. She goes to school regularly.

negative sentence: Makes a negative statement.

e.g. He does not follow rules.

agent: Says who or what action is done by (in a passive voice) someone.

e.g. The book has been bought by Raju.

attributive: An adjective placed before a noun is called an attributive adjective.

e.g. a blue shirt,

her best friend.

predicative: Adjectives are placed after a verb.

e.g. My friend is generous.

adverb particle: It is used as part of a phrasal verb along with the main verb.

e.g. set out, wind up, call off.

cleft sentence: A special emphasis to a part of the sentence by using a structure with IT or WHAT.

e.g. It was you that told me to go there.

What you need is a book.

declarative question: It has the same grammatical form as a statement.

e.g. You are coming?

discourse marker: It connects a sentence with what comes before or after.

e.g. on the contrary to

 frankly.

ellipsis: We leave out words when their meaning can be grasped from the content.

e.g. (I) Have been working here for ten years.

emphasis: We give special importance to one part of a word or sentence.

e.g. Please do come to my house.

fronting: We move a part of a clause to the beginning to emphasise.

e.g., Sweets, I like, but ice creams I can't bear with.

hypothetical: We use some words and structures for hypothetical situations. It may not happen or be imaginary.

e.g. How should I lead my life if I lost my job?

intial: Beginning of a word or sentence.

e.g. high-level,

Always go to school.

intensifying: It is more emphatic.

e.g. very,

 terribly.

mid-position: When an adverb is in mid-position in a sentence, it should be placed before the verb

e.g. She has never seen such a great building.

non-affirmative: Words like any, anybody, yet, ever.

regular: Having the usual form of something.

e.g. cats (regular plural)

changed (regular verb).

slang: A word or expression used in informal speech or writing.

e.g. thick (stupid).

adjunct: When added a word or group of words to a clause it gives more information of that situation. 

e.g. We meet you tomorrow. ( in a word )

      I pray God everyday in the evening. ( in a phrase )

      When my father checked my books, I had already finished my home work. (in a clause )

apposition: When we place a noun or noun group after a head word, it gives more details about it.

e.g. Raju, our leader won the election.

head word: the main word of a noun group.

e.g. a tall building with a high wall around it.

dynamic verb: verbs which describe real actions.

e.g.  run, walk, shout.

clause: a clause combines with at least one subject and a finite verb. It stands its own to give a clear meaning.

e.g. Raju loves Indian dishes.

phrase: a group of words which does not contain a verb and a  subject. It gives an idea of a sentence.

e.g. before the first meeting.

conjugation: derived forms of a verb from its root verb.

e.g. sing -sang - sung - singing.

content word: content word has a specific meaning in a sentence. It gives sense to the sense to the sentence. These are nouns, verbs, pronouns and so on.

e.g, Would you please carry my luggage to the railway station.

contraction: shortening of two ( more often ) or more words into one single word.

e.g. isn't, couldn't,

embedded question: it has a structure of a assertive sentence though it ends in a question mark. It appears within another statement.

e.g. Do you know where your father runs his business?

 fragment: it is a part of a sentence that gives the main idea of it. This is very common in informal communication.

e.g. When are you going home?

        at night.

gerund: a present participle (V4 ) when used as a noun or a subject of a sentence, it becomes a gerund.

e.g. reading books is a good habit.

inversion: an inversion is created when an auxiliary verb placed before the subject. This can be seen in conditionals, questions, agreements and disagreements.

e.g. Had he prepared well for his exams, he wouldn't have failed.

       Where is Rani?

        So do I.

       Neither did he.

prefix: a letter or a group of letters which can be added at the beginning of a word. It can change the meaning of the word when added to a word.

e.g. able - disable

suffix: a letter or a group of letters which can be added at the beginning of a word. It can change the form of a word while its meaning is the same.

e.g. act - action.

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